Opuscula Philolichenum, 15: 92-104. 2016. *pdf effectively published online 3October2016 via (http://sweetgum.nybg.org/philolichenum/) The Calicioids of Newfoundland, Canada RICHARD TROY MCMULLIN1 AND ANDRÉ ARSENAULT2 ABSTRACT. – Eight mature forests throughout the Island of Newfoundland in Canada were surveyed for lichenized and non-lichenized calicioid fungi. Thirty-two species were discovered, which increases the number of calicioids known from the island to 34. Twenty-two species are reported for the first time in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador: Calicium glaucellum, C. lenticulare, Chaenotheca balsamconensis, C. chrysocephala, C. gracilenta, C. gracillima, C. laevigata, C. trichialis, C. xyloxena, Chaenothecopsis consociata, C. debilis, C. marcineae, C. nana, C. pusiola, C. savonica, C. viridireagens, Microcalicium conversum, M. disseminatum, Phaeocalicium compressulum, P. matthewsianum, Stenocybe flexuosa, and S. pullatula. Additional calicioid species are expected to occur in Newfoundland as many ecoregions and habitats remain unexplored for these taxa. KEYWORDS. – Caliciales, Coniocybaceae, Microcaliciaceae, Mycocaliciaceae Physciaceae, Atlantic Canada. INTRODUCTION Calicioids are lichenized and nonlichenized fungi that have a mazaedium (Tibell 1996, 1999). Most calicioids are crustose in growth form and produce small pin-like fruiting bodies that are <2 mm tall (these reproductive structures have led them to be known vernacularly as stubble lichens). A considerably smaller number of species are fruticose in growth form (Selva 2013, Tibell 1999). For example, in the Acadian Forest of eastern North America only two calicioids are fruticose, Sphaerophorus fragilis (L.) Pers. and S. globosus (Huds.) Vain. (Selva 2014). The crustose calicioids are easily overlooked because they are inconspicuous and many species colonize substrates and microhabitats that are often not inhabited by other lichen species. Consequently, these habitats are often not examined by lichenologists (Selva 2013). Calicioids may also be overlooked because many species only tend to occur in old-growth forests with a high diversity of microhabitats (Tibell 1992, Selva 2003, McMullin et al. 2008, Lõhmus & Lõhmus 2011), which are ecosystems that are increasingly uncommon in areas of the world (Rudela et al. 2005, Henry & Quinby 2010, McMullin et al. 2008). In Newfoundland, Canada, the lichen biota has been well studied compared to other parts of Canada, e.g., Eckfeldt (1895), Arnold (1899), Macoun (1902), Ahti (1983), Thomson (1984, 1997), Yetman (1999), Deduke & Piercey-Normore (2013), Piercey-Normore (2013), Deduke et al. (2014), McCarthy et al. (2015). There appears to be a knowledge gap, however, for the calicioids in this region. Prior to our study, twelve calicioid species were known from Newfoundland, which is conspicuously fewer than the 89 species known from the Acadian Forest (Selva 2014) and the 40 species known from the nearby Parc national de la Gaspésie in eastern Québec (McMullin unpublished data). The aim of our study was to better understand the calicioid biota in Newfoundland by surveying mature and old-growth forests throughout the region. 1RICHARD TROY MCMULLIN – Canadian Museum of Nature, PO Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6P4, Canada. – e-mail: [email protected] 2ANDRÉ ARSENAULT – Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Atlantic Forestry Centre, Corner Brook Office P.O. Box 960, 20 University Drive, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, A2H 6J3, Canada. – e-mail: [email protected] 92 Figure 1. Location of the eight study sites surveyed throughout Newfoundland. 93 The vegetation of the Island of Newfoundland (106,000 km2) is a unique type of boreal ecosystem shaped by highly variable geology and climate (Damman 1965). Forests dominated by conifers represent about 56% of the vegetation and are naturally fragmented by heathlands (19%), peatlands (14%), and water (10%) (Meades 2008). Abies balsamea (balsam fir). and Picea mariana (black spruce) dominate the majority of the forested landscapes and often occur in mixtures with other species of coniferous and deciduous trees. The island has nine ecoregions, which represent the dominant biogeoclimatic features (Damman 1983). In this study, we sampled in four ecoregions (Fig.1) including: the Avalon Forest ecoregion located in the middle of the Avalon Peninsula (Hall’s Gullies, Salmonier Nature Park, Viker’s Road), the Central Newfoundland Forest ecoregion (Thomas Howe Demonstration Forest), Maritime Barrens ecoregion (Coy Pond), and the Western Newfoundland Forest ecoregion (Pasadena watershed, Stuckless Pond Trail, and Blow Me Down Mountains). The Central Newfoundland Forest and Maritime Barrens ecoregions have the most continental climate while the other two ecoregions have strong oceanic influences (Damman 1983). The dominant forest disturbances are defoliating insect outbreaks (e.g., eastern spruce budworm and hemlock looper), which regularly produce deadwood habitat (Arsenault et al. submitted). Fire has played a role in shaping some of the forests especially in the Central Newfoundland Forest and Maritime Barrens ecoregions, but it is considered much less frequent than in boreal forests on the mainland (Berry et al. 2015). MATERIALS AND METHODS Field Sampling We examined eight mature and old-growth forests, with some younger and disturbed patches, throughout the Island of Newfoundland between October 5 and November 4, 2015. Our site surveys followed the Floristic Habitat Sampling method described by Newmaster et al. (2005). Those authors showed that sampling throughout a study site is more effective for capturing cryptogam diversity than the use of smaller representative plots. Selva (1999, 2003) refered to this method as an ‘intelligent meander’ as it allowed more time to be spent in microhabitats that are likely to be colonized by calicioids than those that are not. Identification We examined external morphology using a Leica S8AP0 stereo microscope. Using a Leica DME compound microscope, we studied internal morphology and chemical reactions with 50% nitric acid, 10% and 20% potassium hydroxide, and Lugol’s iodine following Brodo et al. (2001). Specimens were deposited in the Canadian Museum of Nature (CANL) in Gatineau, Québec and at the Canadian Forest Service Herbarium (CDFN) in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. RESULTS We discovered 32 species in nine genera throughout the eight forests we sampled. Sixteen (16) species were lichenized (the calicioid lichens) and 16 were not (the calicioid fungi). Based on an up-to-date but heretofore unpublished lichen checklist for Newfoundland and Labrador (John McCarthy, Stephen Clayden, and Teuvo Ahti, unpublished data) and a literature review (citations for species previously reported from Newfoundland are listed in the annotated list below) twenty-two species are reported here for the first time from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador: Calicium glaucellum (Fig. 2a), C. lenticulare (Fig. 2b), Chaenotheca balsamconensis, C. chrysocephala, C. gracilenta (Fig. 2d), C. gracillima, C. laevigata, C. trichialis, C. xyloxena, Chaenothecopsis consociata, C. debilis, C. marcineae, C. nana, C. pusiola, C. savonica, C. viridireagens, Microcalicium conversum, M. disseminatum, Phaeocalicium compressulum, P. matthewsianum, Stenocybe flexuosa, and S. pullatula. The sites with the greatest number of calicioid species were Hall’s Gullies (18 species), Stuckless Pond Trail in Gros Morne National Park (11 species), and the Pasadena watershed (11 species). An annotated checklist of the calicioids of Newfoundland is presented below. We also provide a key to the species to facilitate further study of these organisms in the region. 94 Figure 2. Selected lichenized calicioids collected in Newfoundland. A, Calicium glaucellum from Gros Morne National Park (McMullin 16599, CANL). B, Calicium lenticulare from Hall’s Gullies (McMullin 16653, CANL). C, Calicium abietinum from Salmonier Nature Park (McMullin 16100, CANL). D, Chaenotheca gracilenta from the Pasadena watershed (McMullin 16633, CANL). Scales = 2.5 mm in D, 1.6 mm in B, 1.0 mm in C, and 0.9 mm in A. ANNOTATED LIST OF SPECIES The following list is arranged alphabetically by genus and species. New records for Newfoundland and Labrador are preceded by an asterisk (*). Nonlichenized species are preceded by a dagger (†). Nomenclature follows Esslinger (2015). Authorities follow Brummitt and Powell (1992). Newfoundland and Labrador census divisions follow McManus et al. (1991). Calicium abietinum Pers. FIGURE 2C. NOTE. – Previously reported in Newfoundland by Thomson (1997). Specimens examined. – CANADA. NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR. DIVISION 1: Avalon Peninsula, Hall’s Gullies, NW of Fox Marsh Rd., x.2015, lignicolous, R.T. McMullin 16291, 16296, 16297, 16300, 16304, 16306, 16315, 16317, 16591 (all CDFN, [collected by A. Arsenault]); Avalon Peninsula, E of Salmonier River, forests off Viker’s Rd., 25.x.2015, lignicolous on a snag, R.T. McMullin 16898 (CANL); Avalon Peninsula, Salmonier Nature Park, along path to Butler’s Pool, 14.x.2015, lignicolous on a snag, R.T. McMullin 16100 (CANL). DIVISION 5: Corner Brook region, Blow Me Down Mountains, Nature Trail, ~100 m S of Main Rd., 03.xi.2015, lignicolous on a snag, R.T. McMullin 16917 (CANL); Gros Morne National Park, Stuckless Pond Trail, 01.xi.2015, lignicolous, R.T. McMullin 16598 (CANL). DIVISION 6: Coy Pond, ~10 km W of Hwy 360, xi.2015, lignicolous, McMullin 16937, 16938, 16939 (all CDFN